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Thursday, October 30, 2014

Yeah, I feel the Toddfather deserves his own TTM post. I'm sure he was buried in auto requests this year, but since he's a general badass, he chose not to ignore them. Or I'm just special. Probably the first thing.

Frazier was drafted by the Reds in 2007 and debuted in 2011. In his first full year, 2012, he finished 3rd in Rookie of the Year voting behind Bryce Harper and Wade Miley. He had an off year in 2013, then broke out in 2014, nabbing his first All Star bid on his way to a sexy 5.34 WAR. Signed is a 2012 Topps Heritage #133.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Kent Tekulve was signed by the Pirates in 1969 then debuted for them in 1974. He made a name for himself as a near-everyday reliever, pitching in 90 games in three separate seasons. He held, or holds, a dozen records, most notably most innings in relief for an NL pitcher, most consecutive games pitched, and most relief appearances in all of baseball. Not bad. Slick shades, to boot. A few years in Philly, then a season in Cincy in 1989, and he'd call it a career. Signed is a 1989 Topps Traded #116.

Gary Redus was drafted by the Reds in 1978 and debuted for them in 1982. He would spend four seasons in Cincy, followed by time in Philadelphia, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Texas. He fit for the cycle for the Pirates, fittingly against the Reds. He would retire in 1994, with a solid 322 stolen bases. Signed is a 1984 Topps #475.

Steve Foster was drafted by Cincy and debuted for them in 1991. He would spend his entire three-year big-league career in Red, pitching in 59 games from 1991 to 1993, compiling a lifetime 2.41 ERA. He's currently the bullpen coach for the Royals. Signed is a 1992 Stadium Club #826.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

The rare example of a set I did not like as a kid, but like now. I think I didn't like it because I had too many. And inexplicable, at that. I didn't even start collecting until 1991, and this set just had too many people that weren't around anymore by the time I was heavy into collecting. I don't even know how I acquired so many. Flea markets, I suppose. Or possibly this was the era when cards just materialized in all of our homes.

As far as the design... it smells of rich mahogany (MOVIE REFERENCE). Love the wood grain. Didn't love it as a kid. Love it now. Bring it back, Topps. You could still have parallels. Cherry, cedar, oak. Particle board. We'll still buy it. We promise.

Friday, October 24, 2014

We all know these, yes? Inserted into packs of the regular Topps flagship, these cards are near impossible to find in mint condition. Lucky for me, I hate mint condition. The gold-foil-eruption suffers from chips and cracks. The embossing gets smooshed. Being narrower than regular cards, they slide around in card pages, so the corners and edges get dinged. They apparently attract a six-decade-long coating of grime. But hey. This is a completed team set from the 60's. So I have no choice but to love it.

The Reds in the set are top notch. Not only are all three All Stars, all three are in the Reds Hall of Fame. And with Frank Robinson, we have a Cooperstown inductee as well. These were all acquired from a brick-and-mortar card shop that either sells things for suspiciously cheap or ridiculously expensive. You can guess which end of that spectrum I live on.

1976-1979 Hostess. I have miles to go finishing the Reds Hostess series. Too many megastars.

1969 Globe Imports Playing Cards Chico Cardenas, Jim Maloney. These may be the easiest-to-forge cards of all time. They're on regular thickness printer paper. And printed only with black ink. Perhaps that's why they're so cheap. I'm only missing Pete Rose for the team set. Never even seen it.

1969 Milton Bradley Tommy Harper, Lee May. You can buy the game these came in, including the complete card run, for $955 on eBay. Yeah, I'll get right on that.

1976 Greyhound Heroes of the Base Paths Joe Morgan. I love this card very much.

1978 Player Patches Joe Morgan, Tom Seaver. I don't know who made these, but the interwebs tells me they were made in '78. So I believe it. These are Dick Perez-level portraits, boy.

I have indeed run out of suitable oddballs from prior to my birth. I suppose a 1980's oddball series could be in store, but my goodness that would take months.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

1977 Pepsi Glove Discs Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Ken Griffey. Love these. Love that they were never punched out of their gloves. And I'm totally gonna order that shirt. Oh damn. The offer expired. Nerts. I also have the Ken Griffey, but the scan was blurry and you all aren't worth a second trip to the scanner.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

VOW continues with some cards fought over at the breakfast table many decades ago, only to fall into my lap in the past couple years. Post and Kellogg's. One of each will suffice. And I'm breaking my vintage classification at the end, as the Kellogg's run went into the 80's.

In terms of set completion, for the 1961-1963 Post run, I'm sitting at 24/39 (not counting Canadian versions). For the 1970-1983 Kellogg's run, I'm sitting at 29/57, though sadly none from the 1971 set.